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USA contract includes classification study

Members of the University Staff Association ratified a new three-year contract on June 24 that includes an agreement by management to conduct a classification study.

"Getting this study done has been our long-time goal," said USA President Donna Johnson. "The fact is that our job titles and descriptions, which were developed in the late 1970s, do not reflect what we really do."

Johnson noted that some of the job descriptions mention the use of mimeograph machines and IBM Selectric typewriters.

A joint labor-management committee will choose a consulting firm to do the classification study, the impact of which will be bargained in the next contract.

Contract highlights include:

• Pay hikes of 2 percent for each year, 2004-2007, retroactive to February 2005.
• $1 increase in Health and Welfare Trust monies.
• An option for laid-off employees who choose not to exercise bumping and recall rights, allowing them to collect one week’s pay for every year they’ve worked at UMass.

"We were also able to fight off the numerous take-backs management was demanding," Johnson said, "and we were able to maintain our career-ladder funding -- our professional development -- which is crucial to preserving career advancement opportunities."